It’s now over three weeks since the Green Party’s record results in the London elections, and we’ve been reflecting on what the gains mean for us as a party, and on the changing political landscape in our city.

Green Party candidate for Lambeth & Southwark celebrates a game-changing result with GP Lambeth Councillor, Scott Ainslie.

First and foremost a massive thank you to Green Party campaigners and candidates across Southwark and London. These monumental efforts saw voters seize their chance to vote Green outside the usual first-past-the-post system, where Labour and Conservatives inevitably dominate. The London List vote in the Assembly elections is proportional, making a Green vote far more than a gesture of support. Greens came second on this ballot paper, ahead of the Tories and with more than double the votes of the Lib Dems. This helped to give us a third member on the London Assembly: Zack Polanski now joins Siân Berry and Caroline Russell at City Hall, where he’s hit the ground running, pushing mayor Sadiq Khan on proposals for a Citizens Assembly for London.

Even in the first-past-the-post constituency vote, the Green Party in Southwark and Lambeth secured brilliant results. Our candidate, Southwark Greens’ Claire Sheppard, gained 19.7% of the vote, overtaking the Conservatives, to come second to Labour. Ours was one of only two constituencies where the Labour-Tory stranglehold was broken, the other being North East London, where Caroline Russell was in second place to Labour.

% of votes for the Green Party Constituency Candidates in London and in S&L constituency, 2012 - 2021

% votes for Green Party ('List Vote') in London and in S&L constituency, 2012 - 2021

The vote for mayor – under the supplementary vote system – consolidated the Greens’ position as London’s third party. Siân Berry received 11.5% of first-choice votes compared with 8.8% in 2016, and a massive 28% of second-preference votes – the most for any candidate, clearly indicating that Siân and the Green Party can and do get support from across the political spectrum.

Let's all make our homes a billboard for Siân Berry's inspiring campaign for London Mayor.

The London Young Greens made these brilliant VOTE SIAN posters for everyone to print at home and post in our windows!

We look forward to seeing these around the borough in the next few weeks. Take a snap when you see one and let the Young Greens know @LondonYGs (twitter) and @londonygs (instagram).

Which one for your front window? Green or White? Or both?

Since declaring a Climate Emergency two years ago the Council has frequently stated its desire to engage with residents and community groups, to hear their ideas for tackling the environmental problems we face and to work together with people to create ’a cleaner, greener, safer’ Southwark.

In practice, however, very little has been achieved during these two years. There has been plenty of greenwashing but hardly any meaningful action. It’s true that the Council’s intended approach to engagement with the public on the issue, planned for April to June 2020, was dealt a severe blow by the rapid spread of Covid-19; instead of face-to-face consultation, residents and businesses had to be invited to air their views via an online portal. Inevitably the restricted contact meant that most of the comments received were contributed by people used to engaging with the Council, while the average person remained out of reach and in the dark.

In the week that Southwark Housing cabinet member and Labour councillor Leo Pollak resigned from his post, here at Southwark Green Party we have been focusing on more positive news.

Landing in our inbox today was a snapshot of the positive and responsible impact that elected Green Party representatives are having around the country.

Rather than hiding behind anonymous twitter accounts (see Southwark News for details), elected Greens make good things happen for the communities they represent that are also good for the planet.